Robert Collie believes his bodybuilding hobby has helped him cope with the “horrendous” things he’s exposed to as a police officer.
Instead of worrying about the arduous task of breaking bad news to families when he’s off duty, the gruelling fitness exercises gives him an escape when he takes off the uniform.
The 32-year-old Moray police officer first started competing in bodybuilding competitions in 2015.
Now, seven years later, he has been named the Natural Physique Associations Middle Weight British Champion – an accolade which left him in tears.
He said : “I’m somebody that’s not particularly emotional, but I burst out crying onstage, I was on my hands and knees, it was just an incredible moment.
“From childhood, my hero was Arnold Schwarzenegger, apparently one of my first words was Schwarzenegger.
“I grew up watching his films and just being utterly enamored with the man.”
Prior to joining the police, Mr Collie built up his strength by playing football and rugby, but due to his fear of getting injured he quit rugby when he became a policeman.
However, since a friend suggested he enter a bodybuilding competition in Inverness, he has never looked back.
“I didn’t really see myself doing all the fake tan and the hair removal, but I thought I’d give it a go and when I stepped onstage, I absolutely loved it,” he recalled.
‘Focus on training rather than what I’ve been exposed to’
Mr Collie, who lives in Elgin, has risen to the heights of the UK’s bodybuilding scene without any help from a coach or training partner.
And he believes having to do it all himself has helped him focus on achieving on his own personal goals.
He said: “I did it entirely by myself, I’m a big believer that I want my successes and my failures to all be my own responsibility, if I win it’s off my own back, if I lose it’s my fault.
“I prefer that focus all being on me and it pushes me to learn more about the diet and training rather than relying on someone to give me ABC to follow,” he explained.
Though he has to work training around his varied 10-hour shifts, he believes it works as an outlet to the difficult incidents he has to deal with in his job.
He said: “When I’m going to some of these horrendous calls, I might be going to give someone pretty terrible news.
“On the other side of it, when my shift is finished for the day, rather than coming home and struggling with what I’ve been exposed to, my focus is then on my training.
“I’ve got to be flexible with what I eat in terms of its stuff that doesn’t need to potentially cook or microwave because I’ve got to eat it cold in the car.
“You’ve just got to make do, I could be a roofer in terrible rain or labouring on a building site which would make me tired for my training.
“Everybody’s got a different cross to bear, don’t they?”
‘Colleagues constantly help me out’
Mr Collie also credited his colleagues for supporting him throughout his bodybuilding journey.
He said: “The support I’ve had from my colleagues is unbelievable because they obviously see the effect it has on me.
“I’ve been dieting since March just for this show, I get really tired and my sleep gets affected but they’re constantly there doing what they can to help me out.
“They’re blown away that I’m able to train and diet on these shifts because they know how stressful a job being a frontline police officer is.”
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